Movable tub sheet for dry cleaning washers



July 28, 1942. F. A. GERLACH 2,291,463

MOVABLE TUB SHEET FOR DRY CLEANING WASHERS Filed Feb. 10, 1941 iNVENTOR FRANK A. GERLACH BY M Wa ATTORNEYS Patented July 28, 1942 MOVABLE TUB SHEET FOR DRY CLEANING WASHERS Frank A. Gerlach, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to The American Laundry Machinery Company, Nor-wood, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application February 10, 1941, Serial No. 378,227

6 Claims. (01. 68-139) The invention relates to door closures for that type of commercial washing machine wherein articles to be dry cleaned are placed within a foraminous container, generally of cylindrical contour, which in operation is rotated within a close fitting tub or casing partly filled with cleaning fluid.

In machines of the type mentioned a door frame is usually positioned in the upper front quarter of the casing, and the rotatable, workcontaining member, hereinafter termed the'cylinder, is also provided with a door opening which is capable of being rotated into registry with the casing door so as to permit loading or unloading of the work.

In the past attempts have been made to strike a balance between the convenience of a low level door opening, which facilitates loading and unloading the work, and the resulting inconvenience and disadvantages arising, during operation of the machine, from splash leakage taking place along the bottom and side sills of the casing door, which effect is of course enhanced as the door level is lowered towards the surface of the cleaning fluid. The desired door level for convenient loading and unloading places the lower door sill at the plane of the axis of rotation of the cylinder.

My novel construction comprises, among other features, a movable curtain arrangement mounted on, and curved to conform to, the interior surface of the tub or casing. When the machine is open for loading or unloading this ourtain is adapted to be moved downwardly below the plane of axial rotation of the cylinder at which plane I prefer, as aforesaid, to position the lower door sill thereby permitting convenient introduction and discharge of the load. When the machine is ready for operation the said curtain is moved to its raised or operative position and the tub and cylinder doors are closed, the

practical effect of this construction being to raise the effective sealed level of the casing door to a plane coincident with the top of the curtain, thereby restricting splash leakage to a zone so high as to be practically nonexistent. I am thereby enabled to achieve in the same cleaning machine all the loading advantages of a door at a convenient height, and, in addition, all the leak-proof advantages of a door at a higher elevation.

In dry cleaning fabrics fluids are used which are usually volatile and, in vapor form, under spark excitation, some of them are explosive. Even under the most careful handling conditions occasional explosions occur which may cause considerable damage and serious injury to the operator. With the arrangement described herein I am able to provide a full size casing door which completely covers the door opening and which is a decided advantage in the case of an explosion or fire occurring, for example, during a loading or an unloading operation. Under such circumstances the automatic door closing device-which is always provided in these machines, and which I will briefly describe later in connection with the structural detail of my construction, will cause the hinged casing door to be closed and it will completely cover the door opening.

Advantages other than those mentioned will be apparent from an examination of the following description and the attached drawing illustrating one embodiment of the invention, in Which- Fig. l is a fragmental perspective view of the washer with the outer casing door open and the inner casing curtain in its highest position, the cylinder door being shut.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section in a plane normal to the rotational axis of the cylinder showing the outer casing door shut and the inner casing curtain raised as in Fig. 1, the cylinder door being closed.

Fig. 3 is a section taken similarly to that of Fig. 2 showing all doors and the casing curtain in the fully open position.

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

The drawing shows fragmentary portions of a conventional commercial type washing or cleaning machine having a cylindrical casing 5 within which a cylinder 6 rotates on a horizontal axis, the cylinder being foraminous to permit the free passage therethrough of cleaning fluid contained in the casing as is familiar to those skilled in the art. The machine is provided with means, not shown, for the usual operation thereof, including power means for rotating, reversing, and inching the cylinder, and also means for the introduction and discharge of cleaning fluid or detergent and supplies, all of which means may be conventional and form no part of this present invention, which is devoted to door closure construction.

The casing 5 is provided with an outer door 1 which swings on a hinge 8 at its upper edge and which is large enough to completely cover the door opening. In open position the center of gravity of door I has been carried upwardly shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

and to the right beyond hinge 8 (Fig. 3) so that the door rests against one ,or more stops 9 on the upper part of the casing.

The machine may be equipped with protective means for minimizing fire hazard and injury to the operator. Such means is familiar to those skilled in the art and while various embodir ments are available to serve the purpose the following description discloses one such operative device, certain features not being illustrated since familiar to those mechanically skilled. A link bar It) is pivoted at-one end II to stop 9, said link bar being maintained in idle position, out of contact with door I, by a weight suspended from a cable having a low-meltingpoint section therein. The weight maintains the link against the biasing effect of a spring. In case of an explosion when the door I is standing in open position, an explosion door positioned on the upper rear portion of the casing is thrown open by the outward rush of heated gases and the fusible section of the cable melts so as to permit the spring to force the link against the door I, unbalancing said door to closed position.

In accordance with my invention the casing is provided with an inner sliding curtain [4 which is'curved to match the inner peripheral surface of the casing and is mounted for sliding movement in guideways I5 on the inner surface of the casing along the vertical edges of the opening. This curtain I4 is upwardly movable from a lower or open position, in which its upper edge is below the lower edge of the casing door frame, as shown in Fig. 3 to an upper position, such as When in upper position it is held by detent plungers l6 maintained in advanced position by springs l1, said plungers seating in sockets IS in the casing door frame.

The lowermost point of travel of curtain It may be controlled by a transverse member PM or other stop abutment in guideways 15. This curtain may be conveniently moved upwardly by means of the handle 26. When the spring plungers I 5 are disengaged from sockets 18 by slight downward pressure the curtain [4 will slide down, under gravity, to its completely open position wherein its bottom edge rests on the stops as aforesaid.

The rotatable cylinder 6 is likewise provided with a sliding door 19 which is curved to conform to the contour of the cylinder, and mounted for up-and-down movement in guides 20 along the edge of the cylinder door frame and which may be releasably held in either closed or open position by the usual latches (not shown). In its lower or closed position its lower edge seats in a groove 21 in a bracket member 28 attached to the cylinder. When in loading or unloading position, as indicated in Fig. 3, the door openings in the casing and cylinder register, the outer casing door is swung upwardly to open position, the curtain is moved downwardly to the limit of itstravel, and the cylinder door is moved upwardly to fully open position.

To prevent articles of clothing from falling down through the gap 2| between casing 5 and cylinder 6 while inserting or removing a load, I provide an unloading apron 22 which, while in inactive position, lies in a drip trough 23 on the outer front of the casing just below the door sill. The apron 22 is hinged at 24 so that it may be swung upwardly and inwardly to span the gap 2| when all doors are open. Solvent dripping from the load as it is withdrawn is caught in the drip trough and returned to the casing through apertures 25 in the casing wall.. The hinged door 7 may be locked by means of latches 29, ailixed to said door, engaging latch brackets 30 attached to the casing. A control switch 3| may also be provided which engages with the door I so as to close the line circuit and permit power operation of the cylinder only when the door I is closed.

The construction just described, and particularly directing attention to the sliding curtain on the inner periphery of the casing, renders it possible to load and unload at the convenient axial level of the cylinderand casing, while it also affords the leak-proof characteristics of a higher level doorway when the machine is in operation. In practice, in machines of this type, the liquid level is maintained below the horizontal plane of the axis of rotation of the cylinder, but in actual operation the liquid is frequently splashed to a considerably higher level, and, in former'construction, tended to leak out along the edges of the casing door. By means of the additional internal sliding curtain this leakage is either prevented entirely or materially reduced.

I have termed the movable member I4 a curtain, for convenience, and because its function is analogous to that of a curtain. It may be formed from sheet metal or other suitable water-- impervious material which is capable of maintaining its prearranged position.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine of thecharacter described, a casing provided with an opening, an outer door adapted to completely close said opening and movably mounted on said casing, a curtain slidably mounted on the interior of said casing and adapted, when in raised position, to partially close said opening, a foraminous work-receiving cylinder mounted in said casing for axial rotation therein, said cylinder being provided with a door opening adapted to be brought into registering relationship with said casing opening, and a door movably mounted on said cylinder for completely closing said cylinder opening.

2. In a machine of the character described, a casing provided with an opening, an outer door adapted to completely close said opening and movably mounted on said casing, an inner curtain mounted in sliding contact with the interior of said casing and adapted, when raised to normal operating position, to permit a higher liquid surface level in said casing, a foraminous work-receiving cylinder mounted in said casing for axial rotation therein, said cylinder being provided with a door opening adapted to be brought into registering relationship with said casing opening, the lower sill portions of said casmg opening and said cylinder opening being sub stantially in the plane of the rotationalaxis of said cylinder, and a door movably mounted on said cylinder for completely closing said cylinder opening.

3. In a machine of the character described, a casing provided with an opening, an outer door adapted to completely close said opening and movably mounted on said casing, an inner curtain mounted in sliding contact with the interior of said casing and adapted, when raised to normal operating position, to permit a higher liquid surface level in said casing, and, whenthe machine is in work-receiving position, to be positioned completely below the level of the lower sill portion of said casingopening, a foraminous work-receiving cylinder mounted in said casing for axial rotation therein, said cylinder being provided with a door opening adapted to be brought ino registering relationship with said casing opening, and a door movably mounted on said cylinder for completely closing said cylinder opening.

4. In a machine of the character described, a casing provided with an opening, an outer door adapted to completely close said opening and movably mounted on said casing, an inner curtain mounted in sliding contact with the interior of said casing and adapted, when raised to normal operating position, to permit a higher liquid surface level in said casing, and when the machine is in work-receiving position, to be positioned completely below the level of the lower sill portion of said casing opening, a foraminous work-receiving cylinder mounted in said casing for axial rotation therein, said cylinder being provided with a door opening adapted to be brought into registering relationship with said casing opening, the lower sill portions of said casing opening and said cylinder opening being substantially in the plane of the rotational axis of said cylinder, and a door slidably mounted on said cylinder for completely closing said cylinder opening.

5. In a machine of the character described, a casing provided with an opening, an outer door adapted to completely close said opening and being hingeably mounted at its upper horizontal edge on said casing, an inner curtain slidably mounted for up-and-down movement on the interior of said casing, and adapted, during normal operation of the machine, to be raised substantially above the lower sill portion of said casing opening to seal leakage therefrom, a foraminous work-receiving cylinder mounted in said casing for axial rotation therein, said cylinder being provided with a door opening adapted to be brought into registering relationship with said casing opening, and a door slidably mounted on said cylinder for completely closing said cylinder opening.

6. In a machine of the character described. a casing provided with an opening, an outer door adapted to completely close said opening and being hingeably mounted at its upper horizontal edge on said casing, an inner curtain slidably mounted for up-and-down movement on the interior of said casing, and adapted, during normal operation of the machine, to be raised substantially above the lower sill portion of said casing opening to seal leakage therefrom, and, when the machine is in work-receiving position, to be situated completely below the level of the lower sill portion of said casing opening, a foraminous work-receiving cylinder mounted in said casing for axial rotation therein, said cylinder being provided with a door opening adapted to be brought into registering relationship with said casing opening, and a door slidably mounted on said cylinder for completely closing said cylinder opening.

FRANK A. GERLACH. 

